Control channel configuration

ABSTRACT

A wireless device may receive at least one radio resource control (RRC) message comprising a field indicating a starting symbol for a physical downlink channel. The wireless device may receive a signal. The physical downlink channel may start from the starting symbol plus an offset value.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 17/357,339, filed Jun. 24, 2021, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/657,720, filed Oct.18, 2019 (now U.S. Pat. No. 11,076,396), which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 15/295,977, filed Oct. 17, 2016 (now U.S.Pat. No. 10,499,382), which claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 62/243,028, filed Oct. 17, 2015, each of which is herebyincorporated by reference herein its entirety.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Examples of several of the various embodiments of the present inventionare described herein with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram depicting example sets of OFDM subcarriers as per anaspect of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram depicting an example transmission time and receptiontime for two carriers in a carrier group as per an aspect of anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram depicting OFDM radio resources as per an aspect ofan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a base station and a wireless device as peran aspect of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5A, FIG. 5B, FIG. 5C and FIG. 5D are example diagrams for uplinkand downlink signal transmission as per an aspect of an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 6 is an example diagram for a protocol structure with CA and DC asper an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an example diagram for a protocol structure with CA and DC asper an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 shows example TAG configurations as per an aspect of anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an example message flow in a random access process in asecondary TAG as per an aspect of an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 10 is an example diagram depicting a downlink burst as per anaspect of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is example diagrams depicting partial subframe and full subframeas per an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Example embodiments of the present invention enable operation of carrieraggregation. Embodiments of the technology disclosed herein may beemployed in the technical field of multicarrier communication systems.More particularly, the embodiments of the technology disclosed hereinmay relate to signal timing in multicarrier communication systems.

The following Acronyms are used throughout the present disclosure:

-   -   ASIC application-specific integrated circuit    -   BPSK binary phase shift keying    -   CA carrier aggregation    -   CSI channel state information    -   CDMA code division multiple access    -   CSS common search space    -   CPLD complex programmable logic devices    -   CC component carrier    -   DL downlink    -   DCI downlink control information    -   DC dual connectivity    -   EPC evolved packet core    -   E-UTRAN evolved-universal terrestrial radio access network    -   FPGA field programmable gate arrays    -   FDD frequency division multiplexing    -   HDL hardware description languages    -   HARQ hybrid automatic repeat request    -   IE information element    -   LTE long term evolution    -   MCG master cell group    -   MeNB master evolved node B    -   MIB master information block    -   MAC media access control    -   MME mobility management entity    -   NAS non-access stratum    -   OFDM orthogonal frequency division multiplexing    -   PDCP packet data convergence protocol    -   PDU packet data unit    -   PHY physical    -   PDCCH physical downlink control channel    -   PHICH physical HARQ indicator channel    -   PUCCH physical uplink control channel    -   PUSCH physical uplink shared channel    -   PCell primary cell    -   PCC primary component carrier    -   PSCell primary secondary cell    -   pTAG primary timing advance group    -   QAM quadrature amplitude modulation    -   QPSK quadrature phase shift keying    -   RBG Resource Block Groups    -   RLC radio link control    -   RRC radio resource control    -   RA random access    -   RB resource blocks    -   SCC secondary component carrier    -   SCell secondary cell    -   SCells secondary cells    -   SCG secondary cell group    -   SeNB secondary evolved node B    -   sTAGs secondary timing advance group    -   SDU service data unit    -   S-GW serving gateway    -   SRB signaling radio bearer    -   SC-OFDM single carrier-OFDM    -   SFN system frame number    -   SIB system information block    -   TAI tracking area identifier    -   TAT time alignment timer    -   TDD time division duplexing    -   TDMA time division multiple access    -   TA timing advance    -   TAG timing advance group    -   TB transport block    -   UL uplink    -   UE user equipment    -   VHDL VHSIC hardware description language

Example embodiments of the invention may be implemented using variousphysical layer modulation and transmission mechanisms. Exampletransmission mechanisms may include, but are not limited to: CDMA, OFDM,TDMA, Wavelet technologies, and/or the like. Hybrid transmissionmechanisms such as TDMA/CDMA, and OFDM/CDMA may also be employed.Various modulation schemes may be applied for signal transmission in thephysical layer. Examples of modulation schemes include, but are notlimited to: phase, amplitude, code, a combination of these, and/or thelike. An example radio transmission method may implement QAM using BPSK,QPSK, 16-QAM, 64-QAM, 256-QAM, and/or the like. Physical radiotransmission may be enhanced by dynamically or semi-dynamically changingthe modulation and coding scheme depending on transmission requirementsand radio conditions.

FIG. 1 is a diagram depicting example sets of OFDM subcarriers as per anaspect of an embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in thisexample, arrow(s) in the diagram may depict a subcarrier in amulticarrier OFDM system. The OFDM system may use technology such asOFDM technology, DFTS-OFDM, SC-OFDM technology, or the like. Forexample, arrow 101 shows a subcarrier transmitting information symbols.FIG. 1 is for illustration purposes, and a typical multicarrier OFDMsystem may include more subcarriers in a carrier. For example, thenumber of subcarriers in a carrier may be in the range of 10 to 10,000subcarriers. FIG. 1 shows two guard bands 106 and 107 in a transmissionband. As illustrated in FIG. 1 , guard band 106 is between subcarriers103 and subcarriers 104. The example set of subcarriers A 102 includessubcarriers 103 and subcarriers 104. FIG. 1 also illustrates an exampleset of subcarriers B 105. As illustrated, there is no guard band betweenany two subcarriers in the example set of subcarriers B 105. Carriers ina multicarrier OFDM communication system may be contiguous carriers,non-contiguous carriers, or a combination of both contiguous andnon-contiguous carriers.

FIG. 2 is a diagram depicting an example transmission time and receptiontime for two carriers as per an aspect of an embodiment of the presentinvention. A multicarrier OFDM communication system may include one ormore carriers, for example, ranging from 1 to 10 carriers. Carrier A 204and carrier B 205 may have the same or different timing structures.Although FIG. 2 shows two synchronized carriers, carrier A 204 andcarrier B 205 may or may not be synchronized with each other. Differentradio frame structures may be supported for FDD and TDD duplexmechanisms. FIG. 2 shows an example FDD frame timing. Downlink anduplink transmissions may be organized into radio frames 201. In thisexample, radio frame duration is 10 msec. Other frame durations, forexample, in the range of 1 to 100 msec may also be supported. In thisexample, each 10 ms radio frame 201 may be divided into ten equallysized subframes 202. Other subframe durations such as including 0.5msec, 1 msec, 2 msec, and 5 msec may also be supported. Subframe(s) mayconsist of two or more slots (e.g. slots 206 and 207). For the exampleof FDD, 10 subframes may be available for downlink transmission and 10subframes may be available for uplink transmissions in each 10 msinterval. Uplink and downlink transmissions may be separated in thefrequency domain. Slot(s) may include a plurality of OFDM symbols 203.The number of OFDM symbols 203 in a slot 206 may depend on the cyclicprefix length and subcarrier spacing.

FIG. 3 is a diagram depicting OFDM radio resources as per an aspect ofan embodiment of the present invention. The resource grid structure intime 304 and frequency 305 is illustrated in FIG. 3 . The quantity ofdownlink subcarriers or RBs (in this example 6 to 100 RBs) may depend,at least in part, on the downlink transmission bandwidth 306 configuredin the cell. The smallest radio resource unit may be called a resourceelement (e.g. 301). Resource elements may be grouped into resourceblocks (e.g. 302). Resource blocks may be grouped into larger radioresources called Resource Block Groups (RBG) (e.g. 303). The transmittedsignal in slot 206 may be described by one or several resource grids ofa plurality of subcarriers and a plurality of OFDM symbols. Resourceblocks may be used to describe the mapping of certain physical channelsto resource elements. Other pre-defined groupings of physical resourceelements may be implemented in the system depending on the radiotechnology. For example, 24 subcarriers may be grouped as a radio blockfor a duration of 5 msec. In an illustrative example, a resource blockmay correspond to one slot in the time domain and 180 kHz in thefrequency domain (for 15 KHz subcarrier bandwidth and 12 subcarriers).

FIG. 5A, FIG. 5B, FIG. 5C and FIG. 5D are example diagrams for uplinkand downlink signal transmission as per an aspect of an embodiment ofthe present invention. FIG. 5A shows an example uplink physical channel.The baseband signal representing the physical uplink shared channel mayperform the following processes. These functions are illustrated asexamples and it is anticipated that other mechanisms may be implementedin various embodiments. The functions may comprise scrambling,modulation of scrambled bits to generate complex-valued symbols, mappingof the complex-valued modulation symbols onto one or severaltransmission layers, transform precoding to generate complex-valuedsymbols, precoding of the complex-valued symbols, mapping of precodedcomplex-valued symbols to resource elements, generation ofcomplex-valued time-domain DFTS-OFDM/SC-TDMA signal for each antennaport, and/or the like.

Example modulation and up-conversion to the carrier frequency of thecomplex-valued DFTS-OFDM/SC-TDMA baseband signal for each antenna portand/or the complex-valued PRACH baseband signal is shown in FIG. 5B.Filtering may be employed prior to transmission.

An example structure for Downlink Transmissions is shown in FIG. 5C. Thebaseband signal representing a downlink physical channel may perform thefollowing processes. These functions are illustrated as examples and itis anticipated that other mechanisms may be implemented in variousembodiments. The functions include scrambling of coded bits in each ofthe codewords to be transmitted on a physical channel; modulation ofscrambled bits to generate complex-valued modulation symbols; mapping ofthe complex-valued modulation symbols onto one or several transmissionlayers; precoding of the complex-valued modulation symbols on each layerfor transmission on the antenna ports; mapping of complex-valuedmodulation symbols for each antenna port to resource elements;generation of complex-valued time-domain OFDM signal for each antennaport, and/or the like.

Example modulation and up-conversion to the carrier frequency of thecomplex-valued OFDM baseband signal for each antenna port is shown inFIG. 5D. Filtering may be employed prior to transmission.

FIG. 4 is an example block diagram of a base station 401 and a wirelessdevice 406, as per an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention.A communication network 400 may include at least one base station 401and at least one wireless device 406. The base station 401 may includeat least one communication interface 402, at least one processor 403,and at least one set of program code instructions 405 stored innon-transitory memory 404 and executable by the at least one processor403. The wireless device 406 may include at least one communicationinterface 407, at least one processor 408, and at least one set ofprogram code instructions 410 stored in non-transitory memory 409 andexecutable by the at least one processor 408. Communication interface402 in base station 401 may be configured to engage in communicationwith communication interface 407 in wireless device 406 via acommunication path that includes at least one wireless link 411.Wireless link 411 may be a bi-directional link. Communication interface407 in wireless device 406 may also be configured to engage in acommunication with communication interface 402 in base station 401. Basestation 401 and wireless device 406 may be configured to send andreceive data over wireless link 411 using multiple frequency carriers.According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, transceiver(s)may be employed. A transceiver is a device that includes both atransmitter and receiver. Transceivers may be employed in devices suchas wireless devices, base stations, relay nodes, and/or the like.Example embodiments for radio technology implemented in communicationinterface 402, 407 and wireless link 411 are illustrated are FIG. 1 ,FIG. 2 , FIG. 3 , FIG. 5 , and associated text.

An interface may be a hardware interface, a firmware interface, asoftware interface, and/or a combination thereof. The hardware interfacemay include connectors, wires, electronic devices such as drivers,amplifiers, and/or the like. A software interface may include codestored in a memory device to implement protocol(s), protocol layers,communication drivers, device drivers, combinations thereof, and/or thelike. A firmware interface may include a combination of embeddedhardware and code stored in and/or in communication with a memory deviceto implement connections, electronic device operations, protocol(s),protocol layers, communication drivers, device drivers, hardwareoperations, combinations thereof, and/or the like.

The term configured may relate to the capacity of a device whether thedevice is in an operational or non-operational state. Configured mayalso refer to specific settings in a device that effect the operationalcharacteristics of the device whether the device is in an operational ornon-operational state. In other words, the hardware, software, firmware,registers, memory values, and/or the like may be “configured” within adevice, whether the device is in an operational or nonoperational state,to provide the device with specific characteristics. Terms such as “acontrol message to cause in a device” may mean that a control messagehas parameters that may be used to configure specific characteristics inthe device, whether the device is in an operational or non-operationalstate.

According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, an LTE networkmay include a multitude of base stations, providing a user planePDCP/RLC/MAC/PHY and control plane (RRC) protocol terminations towardsthe wireless device. The base station(s) may be interconnected withother base station(s) (e.g. employing an X2 interface). The basestations may also be connected employing, for example, an S¹ interfaceto an EPC. For example, the base stations may be interconnected to theMME employing the S1-MME interface and to the S-G) employing the S1-Uinterface. The S1 interface may support a many-to-many relation betweenMIMEs/Serving Gateways and base stations. A base station may includemany sectors for example: 1, 2, 3, 4, or 6 sectors. A base station mayinclude many cells, for example, ranging from 1 to 50 cells or more. Acell may be categorized, for example, as a primary cell or secondarycell. At RRC connection establishment/re-establishment/handover, oneserving cell may provide the NAS (non-access stratum) mobilityinformation (e.g. TAI), and at RRC connection re-establishment/handover,one serving cell may provide the security input. This cell may bereferred to as the Primary Cell (PCell). In the downlink, the carriercorresponding to the PCell may be the Downlink Primary Component Carrier(DL PCC), while in the uplink, it may be the Uplink Primary ComponentCarrier (UL PCC). Depending on wireless device capabilities, SecondaryCells (SCells) may be configured to form together with the PCell a setof serving cells. In the downlink, the carrier corresponding to an SCellmay be a Downlink Secondary Component Carrier (DL SCC), while in theuplink, it may be an Uplink Secondary Component Carrier (UL SCC). AnSCell may or may not have an uplink carrier.

A cell, comprising a downlink carrier and optionally an uplink carrier,may be assigned a physical cell ID and a cell index. A carrier (downlinkor uplink) may belong to only one cell. The cell ID or Cell index mayalso identify the downlink carrier or uplink carrier of the cell(depending on the context it is used). In the specification, cell ID maybe equally referred to a carrier ID, and cell index may be referred tocarrier index. In implementation, the physical cell ID or cell index maybe assigned to a cell. A cell ID may be determined using asynchronization signal transmitted on a downlink carrier. A cell indexmay be determined using RRC messages. For example, when thespecification refers to a first physical cell ID for a first downlinkcarrier, the specification may mean the first physical cell ID is for acell comprising the first downlink carrier. The same concept may applyto, for example, carrier activation. When the specification indicatesthat a first carrier is activated, the specification may equally meanthat the cell comprising the first carrier is activated.

Embodiments may be configured to operate as needed. The disclosedmechanism may be performed when certain criteria are met, for example,in a wireless device, a base station, a radio environment, a network, acombination of the above, and/or the like. Example criteria may bebased, at least in part, on for example, traffic load, initial systemset up, packet sizes, traffic characteristics, a combination of theabove, and/or the like. When the one or more criteria are met, variousexample embodiments may be applied. Therefore, it may be possible toimplement example embodiments that selectively implement disclosedprotocols.

A base station may communicate with a mix of wireless devices. Wirelessdevices may support multiple technologies, and/or multiple releases ofthe same technology. Wireless devices may have some specificcapability(ies) depending on its wireless device category and/orcapability(ies). A base station may comprise multiple sectors. When thisdisclosure refers to a base station communicating with a plurality ofwireless devices, this disclosure may refer to a subset of the totalwireless devices in a coverage area. This disclosure may refer to, forexample, a plurality of wireless devices of a given LTE release with agiven capability and in a given sector of the base station. Theplurality of wireless devices in this disclosure may refer to a selectedplurality of wireless devices, and/or a subset of total wireless devicesin a coverage area which perform according to disclosed methods, and/orthe like. There may be a plurality of wireless devices in a coveragearea that may not comply with the disclosed methods, for example,because those wireless devices perform based on older releases of LTEtechnology.

FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 are example diagrams for protocol structure with CAand DC as per an aspect of an embodiment of the present invention.E-UTRAN may support Dual Connectivity (DC) operation whereby a multipleRX/TX UE in RRC CONNECTED may be configured to utilize radio resourcesprovided by two schedulers located in two eNBs connected via a non-idealbackhaul over the X2 interface. eNBs involved in DC for a certain UE mayassume two different roles: an eNB may either act as an MeNB or as anSeNB. In DC a UE may be connected to one MeNB and one SeNB. Mechanismsimplemented in DC may be extended to cover more than two eNBs. FIG. 7illustrates one example structure for the UE side MAC entities when aMaster Cell Group (MCG) and a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) are configured,and it may not restrict implementation. Media Broadcast MulticastService (MBMS) reception is not shown in this figure for simplicity.

In DC, the radio protocol architecture that a particular bearer uses maydepend on how the bearer is setup. Three alternatives may exist, an MCGbearer, an SCG bearer and a split bearer as shown in FIG. 6 . RRC may belocated in MeNB and SRBs may be configured as a MCG bearer type and mayuse the radio resources of the MeNB. DC may also be described as havingat least one bearer configured to use radio resources provided by theSeNB. DC may or may not be configured/implemented in example embodimentsof the invention.

In the case of DC, the UE may be configured with two MAC entities: oneMAC entity for MeNB, and one MAC entity for SeNB. In DC, the configuredset of serving cells for a UE may comprise of two subsets: the MasterCell Group (MCG) containing the serving cells of the MeNB, and theSecondary Cell Group (SCG) containing the serving cells of the SeNB. Fora SCG, one or more of the following may be applied: at least one cell inthe SCG has a configured UL CC and one of them, named PSCell (or PCellof SCG, or sometimes called PCell), is configured with PUCCH resources;when the SCG is configured, there may be at least one SCG bearer or oneSplit bearer; upon detection of a physical layer problem or a randomaccess problem on a PSCell, or the maximum number of RLC retransmissionshas been reached associated with the SCG, or upon detection of an accessproblem on a PSCell during a SCG addition or a SCG change: a RRCconnection re-establishment procedure may not be triggered, ULtransmissions towards cells of the SCG are stopped, a MeNB may beinformed by the UE of a SCG failure type, for split bearer, the DL datatransfer over the MeNB is maintained; the RLC AM bearer may beconfigured for the split bearer; like PCell, PSCell may not bede-activated; PSCell may be changed with a SCG change (e.g. withsecurity key change and a RACH procedure); and/or neither a directbearer type change between a Split bearer and a SCG bearer norsimultaneous configuration of a SCG and a Split bearer are supported.

With respect to the interaction between a MeNB and a SeNB, one or moreof the following principles may be applied: the MeNB may maintain theRRM measurement configuration of the UE and may, (e.g., based onreceived measurement reports or traffic conditions or bearer types),decide to ask a SeNB to provide additional resources (serving cells) fora UE; upon receiving a request from the MeNB, a SeNB may create acontainer that may result in the configuration of additional servingcells for the UE (or decide that it has no resource available to do so);for UE capability coordination, the MeNB may provide (part of) the ASconfiguration and the UE capabilities to the SeNB; the MeNB and the SeNBmay exchange information about a UE configuration by employing of RRCcontainers (inter-node messages) carried in X2 messages; the SeNB mayinitiate a reconfiguration of its existing serving cells (e.g., PUCCHtowards the SeNB); the SeNB may decide which cell is the PSCell withinthe SCG; the MeNB may not change the content of the RRC configurationprovided by the SeNB; in the case of a SCG addition and a SCG SCelladdition, the MeNB may provide the latest measurement results for theSCG cell(s); both a MeNB and a SeNB may know the SFN and subframe offsetof each other by OAM, (e.g., for the purpose of DRX alignment andidentification of a measurement gap). In an example, when adding a newSCG SCell, dedicated RRC signalling may be used for sending requiredsystem information of the cell as for CA, except for the SFN acquiredfrom a MIB of the PSCell of a SCG.

In an example, serving cells may be grouped in a TA group (TAG). Servingcells in one TAG may use the same timing reference. For a given TAG,user equipment (UE) may use at least one downlink carrier as a timingreference. For a given TAG, a UE may synchronize uplink subframe andframe transmission timing of uplink carriers belonging to the same TAG.In an example, serving cells having an uplink to which the same TAapplies may correspond to serving cells hosted by the same receiver. AUE supporting multiple TAs may support two or more TA groups. One TAgroup may contain the PCell and may be called a primary TAG (pTAG). In amultiple TAG configuration, at least one TA group may not contain thePCell and may be called a secondary TAG (sTAG). In an example, carrierswithin the same TA group may use the same TA value and/or the sametiming reference. When DC is configured, cells belonging to a cell group(MCG or SCG) may be grouped into multiple TAGs including a pTAG and oneor more sTAGs.

FIG. 8 shows example TAG configurations as per an aspect of anembodiment of the present invention. In Example 1, pTAG comprises PCell,and an sTAG comprises SCell1. In Example 2, a pTAG comprises a PCell andSCell1, and an sTAG comprises SCell2 and SCell3. In Example 3, pTAGcomprises PCell and SCell1, and an sTAG1 includes SCell2 and SCell3, andsTAG2 comprises SCell4. Up to four TAGs may be supported in a cell group(MCG or SCG) and other example TAG configurations may also be provided.In various examples in this disclosure, example mechanisms are describedfor a pTAG and an sTAG. Some of the example mechanisms may be applied toconfigurations with multiple sTAGs.

In an example, an eNB may initiate an RA procedure via a PDCCH order foran activated SCell. This PDCCH order may be sent on a scheduling cell ofthis SCell. When cross carrier scheduling is configured for a cell, thescheduling cell may be different than the cell that is employed forpreamble transmission, and the PDCCH order may include an SCell index.At least a non-contention based RA procedure may be supported forSCell(s) assigned to sTAG(s).

FIG. 9 is an example message flow in a random access process in asecondary TAG as per an aspect of an embodiment of the presentinvention. An eNB transmits an activation command 600 to activate anSCell. A preamble 602 (Msg1) may be sent by a UE in response to a PDCCHorder 601 on an SCell belonging to an sTAG. In an example embodiment,preamble transmission for SCells may be controlled by the network usingPDCCH format 1A. Msg2 message 603 (RAR: random access response) inresponse to the preamble transmission on the SCell may be addressed toRA-RNTI in a PCell common search space (CSS). Uplink packets 604 may betransmitted on the SCell in which the preamble was transmitted.

According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, initial timingalignment may be achieved through a random access procedure. This mayinvolve a UE transmitting a random access preamble and an eNB respondingwith an initial TA command NTA (amount of timing advance) within arandom access response window. The start of the random access preamblemay be aligned with the start of a corresponding uplink subframe at theUE assuming NTA=0. The eNB may estimate the uplink timing from therandom access preamble transmitted by the UE. The TA command may bederived by the eNB based on the estimation of the difference between thedesired UL timing and the actual UL timing. The UE may determine theinitial uplink transmission timing relative to the correspondingdownlink of the sTAG on which the preamble is transmitted.

The mapping of a serving cell to a TAG may be configured by a servingeNB with RRC signaling. The mechanism for TAG configuration andreconfiguration may be based on RRC signaling. According to some of thevarious aspects of embodiments, when an eNB performs an SCell additionconfiguration, the related TAG configuration may be configured for theSCell. In an example embodiment, an eNB may modify the TAG configurationof an SCell by removing (releasing) the SCell and adding (configuring) anew SCell (with the same physical cell ID and frequency) with an updatedTAG ID. The new SCell with the updated TAG ID may initially be inactivesubsequent to being assigned the updated TAG ID. The eNB may activatethe updated new SCell and start scheduling packets on the activatedSCell. In an example implementation, it may not be possible to changethe TAG associated with an SCell, but rather, the SCell may need to beremoved and a new SCell may need to be added with another TAG. Forexample, if there is a need to move an SCell from an sTAG to a pTAG, atleast one RRC message, for example, at least one RRC reconfigurationmessage, may be send to the UE to reconfigure TAG configurations byreleasing the SCell and then configuring the SCell as a part of the pTAG(when an SCell is added/configured without a TAG index, the SCell may beexplicitly assigned to the pTAG). The PCell may not change its TA groupand may be a member of the pTAG.

The purpose of an RRC connection reconfiguration procedure may be tomodify an RRC connection, (e.g. to establish, modify and/or release RBs,to perform handover, to setup, modify, and/or release measurements, toadd, modify, and/or release SCells). If the received RRC ConnectionReconfiguration message includes the sCellToReleaseList, the UE mayperform an SCell release. If the received RRC Connection Reconfigurationmessage includes the sCellToAddModList, the UE may perform SCelladditions or modification.

In LTE Release-10 and Release-11 CA, a PUCCH is only transmitted on thePCell (PSCell) to an eNB. In LTE-Release 12 and earlier, a UE maytransmit PUCCH information on one cell (PCell or PSCell) to a given eNB.

As the number of CA capable UEs and also the number of aggregatedcarriers increase, the number of PUCCHs and also the PUCCH payload sizemay increase. Accommodating the PUCCH transmissions on the PCell maylead to a high PUCCH load on the PCell. A PUCCH on an SCell may beintroduced to offload the PUCCH resource from the PCell. More than onePUCCH may be configured for example, a PUCCH on a PCell and anotherPUCCH on an SCell. In the example embodiments, one, two or more cellsmay be configured with PUCCH resources for transmitting CSI/ACK/NACK toa base station. Cells may be grouped into multiple PUCCH groups, and oneor more cell within a group may be configured with a PUCCH. In anexample configuration, one SCell may belong to one PUCCH group. SCellswith a configured PUCCH transmitted to a base station may be called aPUCCH SCell, and a cell group with a common PUCCH resource transmittedto the same base station may be called a PUCCH group.

In an example embodiment, a MAC entity may have a configurable timertimeAlignmentTimer per TAG. The timeAlignmentTimer may be used tocontrol how long the MAC entity considers the Serving Cells belonging tothe associated TAG to be uplink time aligned. The MAC entity may, when aTiming Advance Command MAC control element is received, apply the TimingAdvance Command for the indicated TAG; start or restart thetimeAlignmentTimer associated with the indicated TAG. The MAC entitymay, when a Timing Advance Command is received in a Random AccessResponse message for a serving cell belonging to a TAG and/or if theRandom Access Preamble was not selected by the MAC entity, apply theTiming Advance Command for this TAG and start or restart thetimeAlignmentTimer associated with this TAG. Otherwise, if thetimeAlignmentTimer associated with this TAG is not running, the TimingAdvance Command for this TAG may be applied and the timeAlignmentTimerassociated with this TAG started. When the contention resolution isconsidered not successful, a timeAlignmentTimer associated with this TAGmay be stopped. Otherwise, the MAC entity may ignore the received TimingAdvance Command.

In example embodiments, a timer is running once it is started, until itis stopped or until it expires; otherwise it may not be running. A timercan be started if it is not running or restarted if it is running. Forexample, a timer may be started or restarted from its initial value.

Example embodiments of the invention may enable operation ofmulti-carrier communications. Other example embodiments may comprise anon-transitory tangible computer readable media comprising instructionsexecutable by one or more processors to cause operation of multi-carriercommunications. Yet other example embodiments may comprise an article ofmanufacture that comprises a non-transitory tangible computer readablemachine-accessible medium having instructions encoded thereon forenabling programmable hardware to cause a device (e.g. wirelesscommunicator, UE, base station, etc.) to enable operation ofmulti-carrier communications. The device may include processors, memory,interfaces, and/or the like. Other example embodiments may comprisecommunication networks comprising devices such as base stations,wireless devices (or user equipment: UE), servers, switches, antennas,and/or the like.

The amount of data traffic carried over cellular networks is expected toincrease for many years to come. The number of users/devices isincreasing and each user/device accesses an increasing number andvariety of services, e.g. video delivery, large files, images. Thisrequires not only high capacity in the network, but also provisioningvery high data rates to meet customers' expectations on interactivityand responsiveness. More spectrum is therefore needed for cellularoperators to meet the increasing demand. Considering user expectationsof high data rates along with seamless mobility, it is beneficial thatmore spectrum be made available for deploying macro cells as well assmall cells for cellular systems.

Striving to meet the market demands, there has been increasing interestfrom operators in deploying some complementary access utilizingunlicensed spectrum to meet the traffic growth. This is exemplified bythe large number of operator-deployed Wi-Fi networks and the 3GPPstandardization of LTE/WLAN interworking solutions. This interestindicates that unlicensed spectrum, when present, can be an effectivecomplement to licensed spectrum for cellular operators to helpaddressing the traffic explosion in some scenarios, such as hotspotareas. LAA offers an alternative for operators to make use of unlicensedspectrum while managing one radio network, thus offering newpossibilities for optimizing the network's efficiency.

In an example embodiment, Listen-before-talk (clear channel assessment)may be implemented for transmission in an LAA cell. In alisten-before-talk (LBT) procedure, equipment may apply a clear channelassessment (CCA) check before using the channel. For example, the CCAutilizes at least energy detection to determine the presence or absenceof other signals on a channel in order to determine if a channel isoccupied or clear, respectively. For example, European and Japaneseregulations mandate the usage of LBT in the unlicensed bands. Apart fromregulatory requirements, carrier sensing via LBT may be one way for fairsharing of the unlicensed spectrum.

In an example embodiment, discontinuous transmission on an unlicensedcarrier with limited maximum transmission duration may be enabled. Someof these functions may be supported by one or more signals to betransmitted from the beginning of a discontinuous LAA downlinktransmission. Channel reservation may be enabled by the transmission ofsignals, by an LAA node, after gaining channel access via a successfulLBT operation, so that other nodes that receive the transmitted signalwith energy above a certain threshold sense the channel to be occupied.Functions that may need to be supported by one or more signals for LAAoperation with discontinuous downlink transmission may include one ormore of the following: detection of the LAA downlink transmission(including cell identification) by UEs; time & frequency synchronizationof UEs.

In an example embodiment, DL LAA design may employ subframe boundaryalignment according to LTE-A carrier aggregation timing relationshipsacross serving cells aggregated by CA. This may not imply that the eNBtransmissions can start only at the subframe boundary. LAA may supporttransmitting PDSCH when not all OFDM symbols are available fortransmission in a subframe according to LBT. Delivery of necessarycontrol information for the PDSCH may also be supported.

LBT procedure may be employed for fair and friendly coexistence of LAAwith other operators and technologies operating in unlicensed spectrum.LBT procedures on a node attempting to transmit on a carrier inunlicensed spectrum require the node to perform a clear channelassessment to determine if the channel is free for use. An LBT proceduremay involve at least energy detection to determine if the channel isbeing used. For example, regulatory requirements in some regions, e.g.,in Europe, specify an energy detection threshold such that if a nodereceives energy greater than this threshold, the node assumes that thechannel is not free. While nodes may follow such regulatoryrequirements, a node may optionally use a lower threshold for energydetection than that specified by regulatory requirements. In an example,LAA may employ a mechanism to adaptively change the energy detectionthreshold, e.g., LAA may employ a mechanism to adaptively lower theenergy detection threshold from an upper bound. Adaptation mechanism maynot preclude static or semi-static setting of the threshold. In anexample Category 4 LBT mechanism or other type of LBT mechanisms may beimplemented.

Various example LBT mechanisms may be implemented. In an example, forsome signals, in some implementation scenarios, in some situations,and/or in some frequencies no LBT procedure may performed by thetransmitting entity. In an example, Category 2 (e.g. LBT without randomback-off) may be implemented. The duration of time that the channel issensed to be idle before the transmitting entity transmits may bedeterministic. In an example, Category 3 (e.g. LBT with random back-offwith a contention window of fixed size) may be implemented. The LBTprocedure may have the following procedure as one of its components. Thetransmitting entity may draw a random number N within a contentionwindow. The size of the contention window may be specified by theminimum and maximum value of N. The size of the contention window may befixed or configurable. The random number N may be employed in the LBTprocedure to determine the duration of time that the channel is sensedto be idle before the transmitting entity transmits on the channel. Inan example, Category 4 (e.g. LBT with random back-off with a contentionwindow of variable size) may be implemented. The transmitting entity maydraw a random number N within a contention window. The size ofcontention window may be specified by the minimum and maximum value ofN. The transmitting entity may vary the size of the contention windowwhen drawing the random number N. The random number N is used in the LBTprocedure to determine the duration of time that the channel is sensedto be idle before the transmitting entity transmits on the channel. Inan example, an eNB may transmit one or more LBT configuration parametersin one or more RRC messages and/or one or more PDCCH DCIs. In anexample, some of the LBT parameters may be configured via RRC message(s)and some other LBT parameters may be signaled to a UE via PDCCH DCI(e.g. a DCI including the UL grant).

LAA may employ uplink LBT at the UE. The UL LBT scheme may be differentfrom the DL LBT scheme (e.g. by using different LBT mechanisms orparameters) for example, since the LAA UL is based on scheduled accesswhich affects a UE's channel contention opportunities. Otherconsiderations motivating a different UL LBT scheme include, but are notlimited to, multiplexing of multiple UEs in a single subframe.

In an example, a DL transmission burst may be a continuous transmissionfrom a DL transmitting node with no transmission immediately before orafter from the same node on the same CC. An UL transmission burst from aUE perspective may be a continuous transmission from a UE with notransmission immediately before or after from the same UE on the sameCC. In an example, UL transmission burst is defined from a UEperspective. In an example, an UL transmission burst may be defined froman eNB perspective. In an example, in case of an eNB operating DL+UL LAAover the same unlicensed carrier, DL transmission burst(s) and ULtransmission burst(s) on LAA may be scheduled in a TDM manner over thesame unlicensed carrier. For example, an instant in time may be part ofa DL transmission burst or an UL transmission burst.

The following signals or combination of the following signals mayprovide functionality for the UE's time/frequency synchronization forthe reception of a DL transmission burst in LAA SCell(s): a) servingcell's DRS for RRM measurement (DRS for RRM measurement may be used atleast for coarse time/frequency synchronization), b) reference signalsembedded within DL transmission bursts (e.g. CRS and/or DMRS), and/or c)primary/secondary synchronization signals. If there is an additionalreference signal, this signal may be used. Reference signals may be usedat least for fine time/frequency synchronization. Other candidates(e.g., initial signal, DRS) may be employed for synchronization.

DRS for RRM may also support functionality for demodulation of potentialbroadcast data multiplexed with DRS transmission. Other mechanism orsignals (e.g., initial signal, DRS) for time/frequency synchronizationmay be needed to support reception of DL transmission burst.

In an example embodiment, DRS may be used at least for coarsetime/frequency synchronization. Reference signals (e.g., CRS and/orDMRS) within DL transmission bursts may be used at least for finetime/frequency synchronization. Once the UE detects DRS and achievescoarse time/frequency synchronization based on that, UE may keeptracking on the synchronization using reference signals embedded inother DL TX bursts and may also use DRS. In an example, a UE may utilizeDRS and/or reference signals embedded within DL transmission bursttargeting the UE. In another example, a UE may utilize DRS and/orreference signals embedded within many available DL transmission burstsfrom the serving cell (to the UE and other UEs).

The discovery signal used for cell discovery/RRM measurement (e.g.opportunistic transmission within configured DMTC) may be used formaintaining at least coarse synchronization with the LAA cell (e.g. <±3μs timing synchronization error and <±0.1 ppm frequency synchronizationerror). DRS may be subject to LBT. Inter-DRS latency generally getsworse as Wi-Fi traffic load increases. It is noted that the inter-DRSlatency can be rather significant. In example scenario, there may be 55%probability that the inter-DRS latency is 40 ms and there is 5%probability that inter-DRS latency is ≥440 ms. The inter-DRS latency asseen by the UE may be worse considering the possibility of misdetectionby the UE. Discovery signal misdetection may be due to actualmisdetection or due to UE unavailable for detection because of DRXinter-frequency measurement during DMTC occasion.

Depending on LAA DRS design, OFDM symbol boundary may be obtained byDRS. PCell and SCell timing difference may be kept, ±30 usec order. Theaggregated cells may be synchronized to some extent, e.g. aligned frametiming and SFN. Thus, similar requirement may be applied to the PCelland LAA cells on the unlicensed band. In an example, a UE may notutilize timing and frequency of the PCell for coarse synchronization ofLAA cells since the timing offset may be up to ˜30 us (e.g. non-located)and frequency reference may not be reliable due to the band distancebetween PCell and LAA cell (2 GHz Pcell and 5 GHz LAA cell). PCelltiming information also may be used for time synchronization at subframeor frame level. SCell(s) may employ the same frame number and subframenumber as the PCell.

PCell timing information may provide some information for symbolsynchronization. By synchronizing PCell, frequency difference observedby UE between PCell and LAA Scell may be up to 0.6 ppm. For example,after 300 ms, the amount of the time drift may be 0.18 usec at most. ForLAA, path delay may be relatively small as the target coverage is small.With timing drift, the multi-path delay may be within cyclic prefixlength.

According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, a UE mayutilize a licensed band carrier as a reference for time/frequencysynchronization for CA of licensed carrier and unlicensed carrier, forexample when they are in the same group (e.g. co-located). Whennon-collocated eNBs support licensed band PCell and unlicensed bandSCell separately in a CA scenario, there may exist maximum ˜30 us timingdifference between PCell and unlicensed band SCell. In an exampleembodiment, the frequency difference between the UE synchronized withPCell and unlicensed band SCell may observe at most 0.6 ppm. An LAA mayprovide functionality for time/frequency synchronization on unlicensedband at least for non-collocated CA scenario.

Example reasons of frequency difference may be 1) oscillator differenceamong PCell, SCell and UE, 2) Doppler shift and 3) fast fading aspect.The oscillator difference of 0.6 ppm offset in 5 GHz corresponds to 3kHz offset. Subcarrier spacing of LTE numerology is 15 kHz. This offsetmay need to be taken into account before FFT operation. One of thereasons of oscillator frequency variation is the temperature. If thefrequency difference is not obtained at the point of DRS reception, UEmay need to buffer subsequent data transmission until UE obtains thisfrequency difference before FFT. The frequency offset caused by this maybe obtained at the reception of DRS. Doppler shift may be small valuefor a low mobility UE. Fast fading and residual mismatch caused by 1)and 2) may be compensated during demodulation process similar to alicensed band. This may not require introducing additional referencesignals for unlicensed band.

According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, a UE may beconfigured to perform inter-frequency measurements on the carrierfrequency layer using measurement gaps for SCells that are notconfigured yet. SCell receiver may not be turned on and measurements maybe performed using the Pcell receiver. When a cell is added as Scell butnot activated (“deactivated state”), the UE may receive relevant systeminformation for the SCell from the Pcell. UE may be configured toperform measurements on the Scell without measurement gaps. SCellreceiver may need to be occasionally turned on (e.g. for 5 ms every 160ms) for RRM measurements using either CRS or Discovery signals. Cellsmay be added as Scell and activated (“activated state”), then the UE maybe ready to receive PDSCH on the Scell in all subframes. The SCellreceiver may perform (E)PDCCH monitoring in every subframe (for selfscheduling case). SCell receiver may buffer every subframe for potentialPDSCH processing (for both self and cross-carrier scheduling cases).

The eNodeB may configure the UE to measure and report RRM measurements(e.g. including RSSI) on a set of carrier frequencies. Once a suitablecarrier or a set of suitable carriers is determined, carrier selectedmay be added as an SCell by RRC (e.g. with ˜15 ms configuration delay),followed by SCell activation (with ˜24 ms delay). If an SCell isdeactivated, the UE may assume that no signal is transmitted by the LAAcell, except discovery signal may be transmitted when configured. If anSCell is activated, the UE is required to monitor PDCCH/EPDCCH andperform CSI measurement/reporting for the activated SCell. In a U-cell,a UE may not assume that every subframe of activated LAA SCell containstransmission. For LAA carriers, channel access may depend on the LBTprocedure outcome. The network may configure and activate many carriersfor the UE. The scheduler may then dynamically select carrier(s) for DLassignment or UL grant transmission.

According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, the first stageof cell level carrier selection may be during initial set up of a cellby an eNB. The eNB may scan and sense channels for interference or radardetection. eNB may configure the SCells accordingly based on the outcomeof its carrier selection algorithm for efficient load balancing andinterference management. The carrier selection process may be on adifferent time scale from the LBT/CCA procedure prior to transmissionson the carriers in unlicensed spectrum. The RSSI measurement report fromUE may be used to assist the selection at eNB.

According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, the secondstage of cell level carrier selection is after initial set up. Themotivation is that eNB may need to do carrier (re)selection due tostatic load and interference change on some carriers, e.g., a new Wi-FiAP is set up and continuously accesses the carrier causing relativelystatic interference. Therefore, semi-static carrier selection may bebased on the eNB sensing of the averaged interference level, potentialpresence of radar signals if required, and traffic load on the carriersover a relatively longer time scale, as well as RRM measurement from UEsin the cell. Due to the characteristics in unlicensed spectrum, RRMmeasurements on LAA SCells may be enhanced to support better carrierselection. For example, the RSSI measurement may be enhanced usingoccupancy metric indicating the percentage of the time when RSSI isabove a certain threshold. It may be noted that cell level carrierselection may be a long-term (re)selection since the process may berather costly due to the signalling overhead and communicationinterruptions for UEs in a cell and it may also affect the neighboringcells. Once a suitable set of carriers is identified, they may beconfigured and activated as SCells for UEs. This process may becontinuous in order to keep reassessing the interference environment.Cell-level carrier selection in unlicensed spectrum may be a relativelylong-term (re)selection based on eNB sensing and RRM measurement reportfrom UE. RRM measurement on LAA SCells may be enhanced to support bettercarrier selection.

Carrier selection from UE perspective may be to support carrierselection for a UE among the set of carriers that the eNB has selectedat the cell level. Carrier selection for the UE in unlicensed spectrummay be achieved by configuring a set of the carriers on which the UEsupports simultaneous reception and transmission. The UE may perform RRMmeasurements on the configured carriers and report them to the eNB. TheeNB may then choose which of the carriers to activate and use fortransmission when it has pending data for the UE. The number of carriersto activate may then also be chosen based on the data rate needed andthe RRM measurements for the different carriers. The activation delayfor a carrier before scheduling data on it may be up to ˜24 ms, assumingthat the UE has performed RRM measurement on this carrier prior toreceiving the activation command within DRX cycle. By operating thecarrier selection based on activation and deactivation, the selectionmay also be done in the order of tens of ms.

According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, CRS may not betransmitted in an activated subframe when a burst is not scheduled inthat subframe. If there are no transmissions from the eNB for anextended duration (Toff), UE demodulation performance may be impacteddue to lack of reference symbols for fine time/frequency tracking. Theextent of performance impact depends on the amount of time for whichthere are no eNB transmissions. The impact may be mitigated by morefrequent transmission of discovery signals.

Discovery signals may be transmitted by the eNB even when UEs are notbeing scheduled. Setting discovery signal periodicity based on UE RRMmeasurement requirements (e.g. 160 ms) may be more efficient thansetting the periodicity based on UE fine time/frequency trackingrequirement.

In an example embodiment, Scell deactivation timer for the unlicensedScell may be set to a value closer to (Toff) based on UE finetime/frequency tracking requirements. This may result in more frequenttransmission of activation commands. Activation commands may be neededwhen the eNB has data to schedule to a UE. From the UE perspective,after receiving an activation command in a particular subframe, the UEmay receive CRS in a number (e.g. one or two) of following subframes.The UEs may receive CRS transmissions for a few symbols or subframes,which they may use for settling AGC loop and time-frequency trackingfilters before PDSCH reception on the SCell. UEs may receive CRStransmission (e.g. in a few OFDM symbols) between reception ofactivation command and reception PDSCH on the Scell.

Activating a large number of carriers on dynamic bases may increase theUE power consumption, false alarm probability, and processing powerrequirements. Improved mechanisms are needed to improve efficiency inthe UE and enable fast and dynamic carrier selection/activation in a UE.Novel mechanisms may reduce UE power consumption, reduce false alarmprobability and reduce processing power requirements. Carrier selectionand activation may be enhanced to achieve fast dynamic carrier selection(or switching). A fast activation procedure for the carrier (e.g.shorter than the currently defined 24 ms) may be defined to improveefficiency.

Current SCell activation latency may include the MAC CE decoding latency(˜3-6 ms) and SCell activation preparation time (RF preparation, up to˜18 ms). Implementation of faster processes and hardware may reducethese delays. SCell MAC activation/deactivation signalling isUE-specific. Signalling overhead may be a concern especially if the cellused for transmitting the signal is a macro cell. In an exampleembodiment, a L1 procedure/indicator may be introduced and/or SCellactivation signalling may be enhanced.

Layer one signalling (e.g. PDCCH/EPDCCH from the PCell or anotherserving cell) may be implemented to signal the set of carriers that theUE may monitor for PDCCH/EPDCCH and/or measuring/reporting CSI. Controlsignalling latency may be 2 ms (e.g. one 1 ms EPDCCH transmission plus0.5 ms decoding). The DCI format may be of small size for transmissionreliability and overhead reduction. To reduce control signallingoverhead, the signalling may be a UE-common signalling. The indicationmay be sent on a carrier that the UE is currently monitoring.

In an example embodiment, a mechanism based on a L1 indication forstarting/stopping monitoring of up to k activated carriers may beprovided. The UE may be configured with n>=k CCs. k CCs may be activatedvia MAC signalling of SCell activation/deactivation. Then based on LBTprogress over the CCs, a L1 indication is sent to inform which of the kCCs may be monitored by the UE and which may not. The UE may thenreceive data burst(s) on the monitored CCs. Another L1 indication may besent after the bursts to alter which CCs may be monitored since then,and so on. The L1 indication may be explicit (e.g., based on asignalling) or implicit (e.g., based on self scheduling and UE detectionof scheduling information on the SCell). For this example, fast carrierswitching is done among at most k CCs.

In an example embodiment, a mechanism based on a L1 signalling forstarting/stopping monitoring of up to m activated carriers (the numberof p configured carriers may be m or higher). The activated carriers maybe more than n (e.g., there may be more CCs activated for the UE thanits PDSCH aggregation capability-n). The UE is configured with p CCs,and there may be up to m CCs that are activated via MAC signalling ofSCell activation/deactivation. The UE may not monitor all the activatedCCs. The UE may monitor at most n CCs according a L1 indication. The L1indication needs to be explicit rather than implicit, since an implicitindication may require a UE to monitor all the up to m activatedcarriers at the same time, exceeding the UE's capability. For thisexample, fast carrier switching is done among possibly more than n CCs.

According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, SCellactivation/deactivation enhancements may be considered for fast carrierswitching. SCell activation/deactivation signalling is a MAC signalling.MAC signalling decoding/detection (with or without enhancements) may beslower than L1 signalling decoding/detection. It may involvesdecoding/detection of a L1 signalling and furthermore, a PDSCH. If SCellactivation/deactivation is carried by a L1 signalling, it may still beconsidered for fast carrier switching. In an example embodiment, amechanism based on a L1 signalling for activation/deactivation of the pconfigured carriers. The UE is configured with p CCs, but each timethere are at most n CCs are activated via a L1 signalling of SCellactivation/deactivation. For instance, based on LBT progress over theCCs, a L1 signalling is sent to inform which of the p CCs are activated.The UE may receive data burst(s) on the activated CCs. Another L1signalling may be sent after the bursts to alter the activated CCs. Forthis example, fast carrier switching is done among possibly more than nCCs.

The control signalling may be transmitted before the eNB has gainedaccess to the carrier via LBT process. An eNB may inform the UE to start(or stop) monitoring a carrier (whether the UE would receive a burst ornot depends on the presence of PDCCH scheduling information for thecarrier). An indication for starting monitoring may be used for morethan one burst, until an indication for stopping monitoring is sent. Theindication may be sent when the eNB expects the (E) CCA is to completesoon. A purpose of the indication may be to inform a UE to start or stopmonitoring a carrier.

Transmitting the control signalling after the eNB has gained access tothe carrier may incur overhead of the reservation signal (proportionalto the control signalling latency). In an example, the maximumtransmission burst may be 4 ms. An eNB may inform the UE to receive aburst on a carrier. The eNB may send one indication for a burst. Theremay be many short bursts (e.g., one burst may last up to 4 millisecondsin certain regions). The indication may be sent after (E)CCA iscompleted, consuming some portion of the maximum allowed transmissionduration for a burst.

It may still be up to the network to transmit the control signallingbefore or after the channel is occupied. A UE may detect that the burstis from the serving cell (e.g. by confirming PCID). The function of thecontrol signalling is to indicate that the UE may perform DLtransmission burst detection of the serving cell. If a DL burst of theserving cell is detected, UE may monitor for possible PDCCH/EPDCCHand/or measuring the CSI on the indicated SCell.

In an example embodiment, a UE may be configured with a number ofcarriers potentially exceeding the maximum number of carriers over whichthe UE may aggregate PDSCH. RRM measurements over the configuredcarriers may be supported, e.g. RSSI-like measurement, extension ofquasi co-location concept to across collocated intra-band carriers,and/or carrier grouping. L1 indication to the UE to start monitoring acarrier, which is selected from the configured carriers by the eNB maybe supported.

According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, an eNB mayconfigure UE with more component carriers which may potentially exceedthe maximum number of carriers over which the UE may aggregate PDSCH.Then eNB may activate one or more carriers among the configured carriersto UE by the existing signalling, e.g. MAC signalling. UE may bescheduled on the one or more activated carriers dynamically based on theLBT mechanism.

A UE may switch to receive on any carrier within a set of carriersselected by the serving eNB as fast as subframe/symbol-level, while thenumber of carriers within the set may potentially exceed the maximumnumber of carriers over which the UE may aggregate PDSCH. Whichcarrier(s) the UE may switch to is per eNB indication. When the UE isindicated with the carrier(s) it may switch to, the UE may start tomonitor the indicated carrier(s), e.g. within a few subframes, and maystop monitoring other carriers. By monitoring a carrier it meant tobuffer and attempt to detect the control channels and other associatedchannels. The eNB indication may instruct the UE to switch to theindicated carrier(s) and monitor the carrier(s). The eNB may notinstruct the UE to switch to monitor on more carriers than its PDSCHaggregation capability in a given subframe. The eNB may not schedule theUE on more carriers than its PDSCH aggregation capability. SCellconfiguration enhancements may allow both semi-static and fast carrierswitching with reduced transition time. The delay associated with theSCell configuration signalling as well as the delay associated with themeasurement process may be decreased.

In an example embodiment, fast carrier switching may support UE toswitch to any carrier within a set of carriers selected by the servingeNB as fast as a few subframes/symbols. The eNB may send an indicationinstructing the UE to switch to the indicated carriers and monitor thecarriers. Then the UE may perform the switching and start monitoring theindicated carriers. The UE stops monitoring other carriers. The eNBindication may be done in L1. A L1 procedure/indicator, or anenhancements of the SCell activation signalling may be introduced.

According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, DRS design mayallow DRS transmission on an LAA SCell to be subject to LBT. Thetransmission of DRS within a DMTC window if LBT is applied to DRS mayconsider many factors. Subjected to LBT, DRS may transmitted in fixedtime position within the configured DMTC. Subject to LBT, DRS may betransmitted in at least one of different time positions within theconfigured DMTC. The number of different time positions may berestricted. One possibility is one time position in the subframe. DRStransmissions outside of the configured DMTC may be supported.

According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, an sensinginterval may allow the start of a DL transmission burst (which may notstart with the DRS) containing DRS without PDSCH within the DMTC. Totalsensing period may be greater than one sensing interval. Whether theabove may be used for the case where transmission burst may not containPDSCH but contains DRS, and any other reference signals or channels. TheECCA counter used for LBT category 4 for the PDSCH may be frozen duringDL transmission burst containing DRS without PDSCH

The RS bandwidth and density/pattern of the DRS design for LAA maysupport for RRM measurement based on a single DRS occasion.

According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, Discoverysignal may be transmitted via a successful LBT operation. When the eNBdoes not have access to the channel, the discovery signal burst may notbe transmitted. In an example, the discovery signal periodicity isconfigured to be 40 ms, and it may be possible to receive the discoverysignal at least once in every 160 to 200 ms with a high probability. Forexample, the probability of receiving a discovery signal burst at leastonce in every 160 ms may greater than 97%. The UE may adjust itsreceiver processing to account for the potential absence of discoverysignals due to lack of access to the channel. For instance, the UE maydetect the presence or absence of a particular discovery signal burstusing the PSS, SSS and CRS signals.

According to some of the various aspects of embodiments, the use ofdiscovery signals that may be subject to LBT. A discovery signal burstmay not be transmitted when LBT fails. Data may be transmitted in theintervening subframes. The reference signals along with controlinformation may be used to reserve the channel prior to a discoverysignal or data transmission.

For reception of data on the serving cell, AGC and fine time andfrequency estimation may employ the discovery signals from the servingcell. In an example, time and frequency estimation may be performedusing the PSS, SSS and/or CRS inside the discovery signal subframes. Theuse of two or more CRS ports may enhance synchronization performance.These signals may provide synchronization estimates that are adequatefor the purpose of RRM measurements on the serving and neighboringcells. When data is to be received by the UE in a subframe that occurs asignificant number of subframes after the last reception of a discoverysignal on the serving cell. Fine tuning of the time and frequencyestimates may be performed using the DM-RS and, if present, the CRSwithin the subframe in which data is received, and/or the initialsignal. The signal used to reserve the channel before the actual startof data transmissions (e.g. reservation signal, initial signal, and/orburst indicator) may be used to fine tune time and frequency estimatesbefore the reception of data. When transmitting data after a longabsence of any discovery signal or other transmissions, the eNB maytransmit a signal of longer duration to reserve the channel in order tofacilitate the use of such a signal for timing and frequencyadjustments.

In an example embodiment, in an unlicensed cell, a downlink burst may bestarted in a subframe. When an eNB accesses the channel it may transmitfor a duration of one or more subframes. The duration may depend on amaximum configured burst duration in an eNB, the data available fortransmission, and/or eNB scheduling algorithm. FIG. 10 shows an exampledownlink burst in an unlicensed (e.g. licensed assisted access) cell.The maximum configured burst duration in the example embodiment may beconfigured in the eNB. An eNB may transmit the maximum configured burstduration to a UE employing an RRC configuration message.

The wireless device may receive from a base station at least one message(e.g. RRC) comprising configuration parameters of a plurality of cells.The plurality of cells may comprise at least one license cell and atleast one unlicensed (e.g. LAA cell). The configuration parameters of acell for example may comprise configuration parameters for physicalchannels, e.g. ePDCCH, PDSCH, PUSCH, PUCCH and/or the like. In anexample embodiment, IE epdcch-Config may indicate theEPDCCH-Configuration for a cell.

The information element (IE) EPDCCH-Config in the RRC message maycomprise configuration parameters of an ePDCCH and may configure ePDCCHfor a cell. The IE EPDCCH-Config may specify the subframes and resourceblocks for EPDCCH monitoring that E-UTRAN may configure for a servingcell. In an example, ePDCCH-Config may comprise subframePatternConfig,startSymbol, setConfigToReleaseList, and setConfigToAddModList, andother ePDCCH parameters. In an example, EPDCCH-SetConfigToAddModList maycomprise SEQUENCE (SIZE(1 . . . maxEPDCCH-Set-r11)) OF EPDCCH-SetConfig.In an example, EPDCCH-SetConfigToReleaseList may comprise SEQUENCE(SIZE(1 . . . maxEPDCCH-Set-r11)) OF EPDCCH-SetConfigId. In an example,EPDCCH-SetConfig may comprise setConfigId (an identifier for an ePDCCHset), transmissionType: ENUMERATED {localised, distributed},resourceBlockAssignment: SEQUENCE{numberPRB-Pairs: ENUMERATED {n2, n4,n8}, resourceBlockAssignment: BIT STRING (SIZE(4 . . . 38))},dmrs-ScramblingSequenceInt: INTEGER (0 . . . 503), andpucch-ResourceStartOffset: INTEGER (0 . . . 2047), and/or otherconfiguration parameters.

In an example, the start symbol may indicate the OFDM starting symbolfor any EPDCCH and PDSCH scheduled by EPDCCH on the same cell in asubframe of a licensed cell or a full subframe of an unlicensed (e.g.LAA cell). If not present, the UE may derive the starting OFDM symbol ofEPDCCH and PDSCH scheduled by EPDCCH from PCFICH. In an example, values1, 2, and 3 may be applicable for dl-Bandwidth greater than 10 resourceblocks. Values 2, 3, and 4 may be applicable otherwise. In an example,E-UTRAN may not configure the field for UEs configured with transmissionmode 10.

In an example, the IE subframePatternConfig may configure the subframeswhich the UE may monitor the UE-specific search space on EPDCCH, exceptfor pre-defined rules in the LTE technology standard. The ePDCCH may betransmitted in one or more subframes identified by subframePatternConfigand pre-defined rules, and may not be transmitted in other subframes. Ifthe field is not configured when EPDCCH is configured, the UE maymonitor the UE-specific search space on EPDCCH in subframes except forpre-defined rules in the LTE technology standard.

In an example, IE numberPRB-Pairs may indicate the number of physicalresource-block pairs used for the EPDCCH set. For example, value n2 maycorrespond to 2 physical resource-block pairs; n4 corresponds to 4physical resource-block pairs and so on. Value n8 may not be supportedif dl-Bandwidth is set to 6 resource blocks. In an example, IEresourceBlockAssignment may indicate the index to a specific combinationof physical resource-block pair for EPDCCH set that is pre-defined inthe technology standard. The size of resourceBlockAssignment may bespecified in technology standard and based on numberPRB-Pairs and thesignaled value of dl-Bandwidth.

The IE dmrs-ScramblingSequenceInt may indicate the DMRS scramblingsequence initialization parameter. The IE pucch-ResourceStartOffset mayindicate PUCCH format 1a and 1b resource starting offset for the EPDCCHset. The IE transmissionType may indicates whether distributed orlocalized EPDCCH transmission mode is used.

In an example embodiment, the wireless device may receive, from a basestation, downlink control information (DCI) in the ePDCCH resources of asubframe. The DCI may be scrambled, by the base station, with the C-RNTIassigned to the wireless device. The DCI may comprise an uplink grant ora downlink grant comprising radio resources (e.g. RBs) for the wirelessdevice.

When the DCI of a subframe comprises a downlink grant, the UE mayreceive from the base station one or more transport blocks, in thesubframe, in radio resources indicated in the downlink grant. Thewireless receive may receive the one or more transport blocks. Thewireless device may transmit to the base station one or more positive ornegative acknowledgement in response to receiving the one or moretransport blocks. The downlink DCI may further comprise MCS, MIMOinformation, HARQ information (HARQ process ID, RV, and/or NDI), and/orthe like for the one or more transport blocks.

When the DCI of a subframe comprises an uplink grant, the UE maytransmit to the base station one or more transport blocks in acorresponding subframe, in radio resources indicated in the uplinkgrant. The wireless device may transmit to the base station the one ormore transport blocks. The wireless device may receive from the basestation one or more positive or negative acknowledgement in response totransmitting the one or more transport blocks. The uplink DCI mayfurther comprise MCS, MIMO information, HARQ information (harq processID, RV, NDI), power control command and/or the like for the one or moretransport blocks.

In LTE-A release 11 and 12, the information element startSymbol inepdcch-Config IE indicates the OFDM starting symbol for any EPDCCH andPDSCH scheduled by EPDCCH on the same cell. If startSymbol is notpresent, the UE may derive the starting OFDM symbol of EPDCCH and PDSCHscheduled by EPDCCH from PCFICH. Values 1, 2, and 3 are applicable fordl-Bandwidth greater than 10 resource blocks. Values 2, 3, and 4 areapplicable otherwise. E-UTRAN may not configure the field for UEsconfigured with transmission mode 10.

In LTE-A release 11 and 12, EPDCCH starting position may be determinedaccording to a mechanism described here. For a given serving cell, ifthe UE is configured via higher layer signaling to receive PDSCH datatransmissions according to transmission modes 1-9, if the UE isconfigured with a higher layer parameter epdcch-StartSymbol-r11, thestarting OFDM symbol for EPDCCH given by index l_(EPDCCHStart) in thefirst slot in a subframe is determined from the higher layer parameter,otherwise: the starting OFDM symbol for EPDCCH given by indexl_(EPDCCHStart) in the first slot in a subframe is given by the CFIvalue in the subframe of the given serving cell when N_(RB) ^(DL)>10,and l_(EPDCCHStart) is given by the CFI value+1 in the subframe of thegiven serving cell when N_(RB) ^(DL)≤10.

For a given serving cell, if the UE is configured via higher layersignalling to receive PDSCH data transmissions according to transmissionmode 10, for each EPDCCH-PRB-set, the starting OFDM symbol formonitoring EPDCCH in subframe k is determined from the higher layer(RRC) parameter pdsch-Start-r11 as follows. If the value of theparameter pdsch-Start-r11 belongs to {1, 2, 3, 4}, l′_(EPDCCHStart) isgiven by the higher layer parameter pdsch-Start-r11. Otherwise when thevalue of pdsch-Start-r11 is not provided by RRC: l′_(EPDCCHStart) isgiven by the CFI value in subframe k of the given serving cell whenN_(RB) ^(DL)>10, and l′_(EPDCCHStart) is given by the CFI value+1 insubframe k of the given serving cell when N_(RB) ^(DL)≤10. If subframe kis indicated by the higher layer parameter mbsfn-SubframeConfigList-r11,l_(EPDCCHStart)=min(2, l′_(EPDCCHStart)), otherwisel_(EPDCCHStart)=l′_(EPDCCHStart).

In LTE-A release 11 and 12, ePDCCH starting symbol may be determinedaccording to epdcch-StartSymbol-r11, pdsch-Start-r11, CFI value, and/orother parameters shown above. For example, whenmbsfn-SubframeConfigList-r11 is configured, the starting symbol may bedetermined according to the configuration parameters described above andsome pre-defined rules.

In an example embodiment, one or two sets of ePDCCH resources may beconfigured on an LAA cell. In an example embodiment, the mechanisms fordetermining the starting symbol for ePDCCH configured on LAA cell may bedetermined employing an enhanced mechanism to improve radio resourceutilization efficiency and reduce signaling overhead. Exampleembodiments provide a mechanism for determining the starting symbol ofePDCCH on downlink transmission on partial and full subframes. Exampleembodiments improve radio resource utilization on an LAA cell.

Transmission of an additional field indicating the ePDCCH startingsymbol of a subframe via a physical layer channel signaling may increasephysical layer overhead. Additional physical layer signaling forindicating ePDCCH starting symbol may increase downlink signalingoverhead. In contrast, transmission of a start symbol field for ePDCCHin an RRC message may provide a semi-static method for configuration ofePDCCH starting symbol and may reduce downlink signaling overhead andprovide the required flexibility in configuring the starting symbol ofthe ePDCCH. In an example embodiment, an eNB may transmit an RRC messagecomprising a start symbol field (IE) employed for determining a startingsymbol of ePDCCH. In an example embodiment this field may be employed todetermine the starting symbol in partial and full subframe according toa pre-define rule. When the start symbol field is not included in theRRC message, the eNB may employ other signals or fields (e.g. CFI,PDSCH-start and/or other parameters) in determining a starting symbolfor the ePDCCH in a subframe and there may be no need to specify aspecific field dedicated for ePDCCH starting symbol calculation.

In an example embodiment, a UE may detect the starting symbol of apartial subframe (Offset_Symbol). The starting symbol may be determinedemploying detection of a pre-defined signal, e.g. an initial signal,burst indicator signal/PCFICH, CRS, and/or the like. A UE may decode(e.g. blind decode) a known signal pattern (e.g. among manypossibilities) and determine the starting symbol of a partial subframe.The starting symbol of a subframe may be named Offset_symbol. TheOffset_symbol is zero for a full subframe. Example of beginning partialsubframe (partial subframe), a full subframe, and ending partialsubframe is shown in FIG. 10 .

In an example embodiment, Offset_symbol may be one of one or morepossible values. The one or more possible values may be predefined, ormay be configured by one or more RRC message for an LAA cell. In anexample embodiment, an eNB may transmit an RRC message comprisingconfiguration parameters of a cell. The configuration parameters maycomprise one or more parameters indicating possible starting symbolvalues for a subframe. For example, the configuration parameters mayindicate the possible starting symbol may be symbol 0 or 7 (at slotboundaries). For example, the configuration parameters may indicate thepossible starting symbol may be symbol 0.

In an example, the Offset_symbol may be 7 for a partial subframe and 0for a full subframe. The embodiments provide the needed flexibility inimplementing partial subframes, wherein the starting symbol of asubframe transmission may not be zero. In an example embodiment, symbolsin a subframe may be numbered from 0 to 13 (See example FIG. 2 ). Forexample, the first symbol is symbol 0, the second symbol is symbol 1,etc. In an example, symbols in a slot may be numbered from 0 to 6. Asubframe may comprise a first slot and a second slot (See example FIG. 2).

Example embodiments provide mechanisms for determining the startingsymbol for a partial subframe and a full subframe. Example controlchannel mapping is provided below. Other equivalent mechanisms usingdifferent formulas may be implemented, which result in the same resourceelement mapping.

In an example embodiment, one StartSymbol IE may be configured forePDCCH of a cell. In a full subframe, ePDCCH starting symbol may be thevalue of StartSymbol IE. In a partial subframe, the ePDCCH startingsymbol may be the value of StartSymbol IE+Offset_symbol. A UE may detectOffset_symbol employing decoding the received signal (e.g. blinddecoding) and employing RRC signaling (using a field in an RRC message).In an example embodiment, up to two sets of ePDCCH may be configured.The same StartSymbol IE may be applicable to one or two sets of ePDCCHand the one or two sets may have the same starting symbol. The startingsymbol applicable to the one or two sets may be determined depending onwhether ePDCCH is transmitted in a full subframe or a partial subframe.An example ePDCCH configuration in a full and partial subframe is shownin FIG. 11 . Transmission of one StartSymbol IE for determining ePDCCHstarting symbol for both partial and full subframes and for one or twosets of ePDCCH reduces the size of RRC message (compared withtransmitting two or more StartSymbol IEs). An example embodiment reducesdownlink signaling overhead.

In an example, a parameter in the at least one RRC message may indicatepossible starting positions of transmission in a subframe of a downlinktransmission burst in an LAA cell. The starting positions may beapplicable to downlink data/control signal transmission and not to thereservation signals. For example, a first value of the parameter mayindicate the starting position is subframe boundary, and a second valueof the parameter may indicate the starting position is either subframeboundary or slot boundary (beginning of the first or second slot of asubframe). Reservation signal may start at any point in time dependingon the base station implementation.

In an example embodiment, for a given serving cell, if the UE isconfigured via higher layer signaling to receive PDSCH datatransmissions according to transmission modes 1-9, if the UE isconfigured with a higher layer parameter epdcch-StartSymbol (in an RRCmessage), the starting OFDM symbol for EPDCCH given by indexl_(EPDCCHStart) is determined from the higher layer parameter, otherwisethe starting OFDM symbol for EPDCCH given by index l_(EPDCCHStart) isgiven by the CFI (control format indicator) value in the subframe of thegiven serving cell when N_(RB) ^(DL)>10, and l_(EPDCCHStart) is given bythe CFI value+1 in the subframe of the given serving cell when N_(RB)^(DL)≤10. In an example, in an initial partial subframe, thel_(EPDCCHStart) for the ePDCCH may be offset by Offset_symbol OFDMsymbols, e.g. by 7 symbols (Or equally the l_(EPDCCHStart) may beapplicable to the second slot). In a full subframe, the l_(EPDCCHStart)for the ePDCCH may be applicable to the first slot.

For a given serving cell, if the UE is configured via higher layersignalling to receive PDSCH data transmissions according to transmissionmode 10, for each EPDCCH-PRB-set, the starting OFDM symbol formonitoring EPDCCH in subframe k is determined from the higher layerparameter pdsch-Start as follows: if the value of the parameterpdsch-Start belongs to {1, 2, 3, 4}, l′_(EPDCCHStart) is given by thehigher layer parameter pdsch-Start, otherwise l′_(EPDCCHStart) is givenby the CFI value in subframe k of the given serving cell when N_(RB)^(DL)>10, and l′_(EPDCCHStart) is given by the CFI value+1 in subframe kof the given serving cell when N_(RB) ^(DL)≤10. In an example, in aninitial partial subframe, the l_(EPDCCHStart) for the ePDCCH may beoffset by Offset_symbol OFDM symbols, e.g. by 7 symbols. If subframe kis indicated by the higher layer parameter mbsfn-SubframeConfigList, orif subframe k is subframe 1 or 6 for frame structure type 2,l_(EPDCCHStart)=min(2, l′_(EPDCCHStart)), otherwisel_(EPDCCHStart)=l′_(EPDCCHStart). In an example, in an initial partialsubframe, the l_(EPDCCHStart) for the ePDCCH may be offset byOffset_symbol OFDM symbols, e.g. by 7 symbols (Or equally thel_(EPDCCHStart) may be applicable to the second slot). In a fullsubframe, the l_(EPDCCHStart) for the ePDCCH may be applicable to thefirst slot. The IE pdsch-Start may indicate the starting OFDM symbol ofPDSCH for a cell. In an example, values 1, 2, 3 may be applicable whendl-Bandwidth for the concerned SCell is greater than 10 resource blocks,values 2, 3, 4 may be applicable when dl-Bandwidth for the concernedSCell is less than or equal to 10 resource blocks.

In an example embodiment a wireless device may receive control formatindicator in a subframe. The wireless device may receive an enhancedphysical downlink control channel (ePDCCH) signal in the subframe. TheePDCCH may start from an ePDCCH starting symbol determined based on thecontrol format indicator, when the subframe is a full subframe. TheePDCCH starting symbol is calculated using CFI value and channelbandwidth. The ePDCCH starts from the starting symbol plus an offsetvalue when the subframe is a partial subframe. For example, the ePDCCHstarting symbol may be given by CFI value when N_(RB) ^(DL)>10 in a fullsubframe. The ePDCCH starting symbol may be given by CFIvalue+offset_value when N_(RB) ^(DL)>10 in a partial subframe. When thesubframe is an MBSFN subframe, the minimum ePDCCH starting symbol may be2 for a full subframe and 2+offset_value for a partial subframe.

In an example embodiment, a wireless device (e.g. operating intransmission mode 10) may receive at least one radio resource control(RRC) message comprising a field indicating a starting symbol for aphysical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). The wireless device mayreceive an enhanced physical downlink control channel (ePDCCH) signal ina subframe. The ePDCCH may start from an ePDCCH starting symboldetermined based on the starting symbol for the PDSCH, when the subframeis a full subframe. The ePDCCH may start from the ePDCCH starting symbolplus an offset value when the subframe is a partial subframe. Forexample, if the value of the parameter pdsch-Start-r11 belongs to {1, 2,3, 4}, ePDCCH starting symbol is given by the higher layer parameterpdsch-Start-r11 for a full subframe. If the value of the parameterpdsch-Start-r11 belongs to {1, 2, 3, 4}, ePDCCH starting symbol is givenby the higher layer parameter pdsch-Start-r11+Offset_value for a partialsubframe. When the subframe is an MBSFN subframe, the minimum ePDCCHstarting symbol may be 2 for a full subframe and 2+offset_value for apartial subframe.

If a serving cell is a LAA Scell, and if the parameter in RRC indicatessubframe Start Position for a partial subframe may be 7 (Offset_symbol),for monitoring EPDCCH candidates starting in the first slot of thesubframe, the starting OFDM symbol for EPDCCH is given by indexl_(EPDCCHStart) in the first slot in a subframe, and for monitoringEPDCCH candidates starting in the second slot of the subframe, thestarting OFDM symbol for EPDCCH is given by indexl_(EPDCCHStart)+Offset_symbol in a subframe (or equally l_(EPDCCHStart)in the second slot in a subframe). The starting symbol is offset byOffset_symbol=7 in a partial subframe.

In an example, ePDCCH resource mapping (in ePDCCH RBs) may start fromthe ePDCCH starting symbol of the first slot for a full (regular)subframe of an LAA cell. In an example, in an initial partial subframe,the ePDCCH start symbol for the ePDCCH if configured, may be offsetadditionally by Offset_symbol OFDM symbols, e.g. by 7 symbols. In anexample, ePDCCH resource mapping (in ePDCCH RBs) may start from theePDCCH starting symbol of the second slot for a partial subframe of anLAA cell. In an initial partial subframe, the ePDCCH start symbol forthe ePDCCH if configured, may be start at symbol Offset_symbol+thestarting symbol of a subframe. In an example, the number of availableresource elements for the EPDCCH may be an actual number of availableREs for the EPDCCH transmission in the initial partial subframe.

The CFI takes values CFI=1, 2 or 3. For system bandwidths N_(RB)^(DL)>10, the span of the DCI carried by PDCCH in units of OFDM symbols,1, 2 or 3, is given by the CFI (e.g. span 3 symbols include symbolnumbers 0, 1, 2). For system bandwidths N_(RB) ^(DL)≤10, the span of theDCI carried by PDCCH in units of OFDM symbols, 2, 3 or 4, is given byCFI+1.

For a given serving cell, if the UE is configured via higher layersignalling to receive PDSCH data transmissions according to transmissionmodes 1-9, and when StartSymbol IE is not configured, the startingsymbol of ePDCCH may depend on CFI or other parameters.

In an example embodiment, in a full subframe, when CFI value is greaterthan zero, the starting OFDM symbol for EPDCCH given by indexl_(EPDCCHStart) in the first slot in a subframe is given by the CFIvalue in the subframe of the given serving cell when N_(RB) ^(DL)>10,and l_(EPDCCHStart) and is given by the CFI value+1 in the subframe ofthe given serving cell when N_(RB) ^(DL)≤10. This is for the case whenePDCCH is transmitted in the full subframe.

In an example embodiment, in a partial subframe, when CFI value isgreater than zero, the starting OFDM symbol for EPDCCH given by indexl_(EPDCCHStart) in a subframe is given by the CFI+Offset_symbol value inthe subframe of the given serving cell when N_(RB) ^(DL)>10, andl_(EPDCCHStart) is given by the CFI value+1+Offset_symbol in thesubframe of the given serving cell when N_(RB) ^(DL)≤10. This is for thecase when ePDCCH is configured in the partial subframe.

In a serving cell, if subframe k is indicated as an MBSFN subframe (byPHY or RRC layer signaling), or if subframe k is subframe 1 or 6 forframe structure type 2, l_(EPDCCHStart)=min(2, l′_(EPDCCHStart)). ePDCCHstarting position may not be smaller than 2.

In an example embodiment, in an LAA serving cell, if subframe k isindicated as an MBSFN subframe (by PHY or RRC layer signaling e.g. bythe higher layer parameter mbsfn-SubframeConfigList-r11)l_(EPDCCHStart)=min(Offset_symbol+k, l′_(EPDCCHStart)) wherein k=1, ork=2. ePDCCH starting position may be Offset_symbol+1 or Offset_symbol+2.In an example, the first one or more symbols may be employed fortransmission of physical signals, such as burst indicator, initialsignal, or other physical layer signals carrying information about thesubframe/burst configuration. When the starting symbol isOffset_symbol+1, the symbol Offset_symbol may be used for transmissionphysical at least one signal/channel.

In an example embodiment, in an LAA serving cell, if subframe k issubframe 1 or 6, l_(EPDCCHStart)=min(Offset_symbol+k, l′_(EPDCCHStart)),wherein k=1, or k=2. In an example UE implementation k may be 1. Inanother example UE implementation k may be 2. ePDCCH starting positionmay be Offset_symbol+1 or Offset_symbol+2 according to a UEimplementation. The first one or more symbols may be employed fortransmission of physical signals, such as burst indicator, initialsignal, or other physical layer signals carrying information about thesubframe/burst configuration.

In an example embodiment, a wireless device may receive at least oneradio resource control (RRC) message comprising a field indicating astarting symbol for an enhanced physical downlink control channel(ePDCCH). The wireless device may receive ePDCCH signal in a subframe.The ePDCCH may start from the starting symbol when the subframe is afull subframe. The ePDCCH may start from the starting symbol plus anoffset value when the subframe is a partial subframe.

A base station may transmit at least one radio resource control (RRC)message comprising a field indicating a starting symbol for an enhancedphysical downlink control channel (ePDCCH). The base station maytransmit ePDCCH signal in a subframe. The ePDCCH may start from thestarting symbol when the subframe is a full subframe. The ePDCCH maystart from the starting symbol plus an offset value when the subframe isa partial subframe.

The at least one RRC message may further comprise configurationparameters of a cell. The cell may be a licensed assisted access (LAA)cell. The at least one RRC message may further comprises configurationparameters comprising one or more parameters indicating resource blocks(RBs) for the ePDCCH. The at least one or more parameters indicate oneor two sets of RB pairs. The field indicating the starting symbol may beapplicable to the one or two sets of RB pairs. The at least one or moreparameters may comprise a first parameter indicating a number of RBpairs; and a second parameter indicating an index identifying RBassignment. The at least one RRC message may further comprise at leastone second parameter indicating a subframe pattern comprising one ormore subframes, the one or more subframes comprising the subframe. Thewireless device may receive from the base station one or more downlinktransport blocks in a PDSCH employing a downlink grant received in theePDCCH.

The at least one RRC message may further comprise a parameter indicatingone or more possible starting positions of transmission in the subframe,the parameter being employed by the wireless device to determine theoffset value. In an example, the offset value is seven. The partialsubframe may start from a symbol indicated by the offset value. Asubframe may comprise two slots in time. A slot comprises a plurality ofsymbols.

The wireless device may detect whether the subframe is the full subframeor the partial subframe. The wireless device may receive a physicaldownlink shared channel (PDSCH) in the subframe. The starting symbol maybe further employed for determining a PDSCH starting symbol in thesubframe. The PDSCH may start from the starting symbol when the subframeis the full subframe. The PDSCH may start from the starting symbol plusthe offset value when the subframe is the partial subframe.

In an example embodiment, MBSFN may be configured employing one or moreRRC messages. IE mbsfn-SubframeConfigList-r11 may comprisesubframeConfigList:MBSFN-SubframeConfigList.

In an example, MBSFN-SubframeConfigList may be SEQUENCE (SIZE (1 . . .maxMBSFN-Allocations)) OF MBSFN-SubframeConfig. The IEMBSFN-SubframeConfig may define subframes that are reserved for MBSFN indownlink. For example, IE MBSFN-SubframeConfig may be SEQUENCE{radioframeAllocationPeriod: ENUMERATED {n1, n2, n4, n8, n16, n32},radioframeAllocationOffset: INTEGER (0 . . . 7), subframeAllocation:CHOICE {oneFrame: BIT STRING (SIZE(6)), fourFrames: BITSTRING(SIZE(24))}.

In an example, IE fourFrames may be a bit-map indicating MBSFN subframeallocation in four consecutive radio frames, “1” may denote that thecorresponding subframe is allocated for MBSFN. The bitmap may beinterpreted as follows: FDD: Starting from the first radioframe and fromthe first/leftmost bit in the bitmap, the allocation may apply tosubframes #1, #2 , #3 , #6, #7, and #8 in the sequence of the fourradio-frames. TDD: Starting from the first radioframe and from thefirst/leftmost bit in the bitmap, the allocation may apply to subframes#3, #4, #7, #8, and #9 in the sequence of the four radio-frames. Thelast four bits may not be used. Uplink subframes may not allocatedunless the field eimta-MainConfig-r12 is configured.

In an example, IE oneFrame may be a bit-map indicating MBSFN subframeallocation in one radio frame. “1” may denote that the correspondingsubframe is allocated for MBSFN. The following mapping may apply: FDD:The first/leftmost bit defines the MBSFN allocation for subframe #1, thesecond bit for #2, third bit for #3, fourth bit for #6, fifth bit for#7, sixth bit for #8. TDD: The first/leftmost bit may define theallocation for subframe #3, the second bit for #4, third bit for #7,fourth bit for #8, fifth bit for #9. Uplink subframes may not beallocated unless the field eimta-MainConfig-r12 is configured. The lastbit may not be used.

In an example, IE radioFrameAllocationPeriod, radioFrameAllocationOffsetmay be configured. Radio-frames that contain MBSFN subframes may occurwhen equation SFN modradioFrameAllocationPeriod=radioFrameAllocationOffset is satisfied.Value n1 for radioframeAllocationPeriod may denote value 1, n2 maydenote value 2, and so on. When fourFrames is used forsubframeAllocation, the equation may define the first radio framereferred to in the description below. Values n1 and n2 may not beapplicable when fourFrames is used.

In an example, IE subframeAllocation may define the subframes that areallocated for MBSFN within the radio frame allocation period defined bythe radioFrameAllocationPeriod and the radioFrameAllocationOffset.

In this specification, “a” and “an” and similar phrases are to beinterpreted as “at least one” and “one or more.” In this specification,the term “may” is to be interpreted as “may, for example.” In otherwords, the term “may” is indicative that the phrase following the term“may” is an example of one of a multitude of suitable possibilities thatmay, or may not, be employed to one or more of the various embodiments.If A and B are sets and every element of A is also an element of B, A iscalled a subset of B. In this specification, only non-empty sets andsubsets are considered. For example, possible subsets of B={cell1,cell2} are: {cell1}, {cell2}, and {cell1, cell2}.

In this specification, parameters (Information elements: IEs) maycomprise one or more objects, and each of those objects may comprise oneor more other objects. For example, if parameter (IE) N comprisesparameter (IE) M, and parameter (IE) M comprises parameter (IE) K, andparameter (IE) K comprises parameter (information element) J, then, forexample, N comprises K, and N comprises J. In an example embodiment,when one or more messages comprise a plurality of parameters, it impliesthat a parameter in the plurality of parameters is in at least one ofthe one or more messages, but does not have to be in each of the one ormore messages.

Many of the elements described in the disclosed embodiments may beimplemented as modules. A module is defined here as an isolatableelement that performs a defined function and has a defined interface toother elements. The modules described in this disclosure may beimplemented in hardware, software in combination with hardware,firmware, wetware (i.e. hardware with a biological element) or acombination thereof, all of which are behaviorally equivalent. Forexample, modules may be implemented as a software routine written in acomputer language configured to be executed by a hardware machine (suchas C, C++, Fortran, Java, Basic, Matlab or the like) or amodeling/simulation program such as Simulink, Stateflow, GNU Octave, orLabVIEWMathScript. Additionally, it may be possible to implement modulesusing physical hardware that incorporates discrete or programmableanalog, digital and/or quantum hardware. Examples of programmablehardware comprise: computers, microcontrollers, microprocessors,application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs); field programmablegate arrays (FPGAs); and complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs).Computers, microcontrollers and microprocessors are programmed usinglanguages such as assembly, C, C++ or the like. FPGAs, ASICs and CPLDsare often programmed using hardware description languages (HDL) such asVHSIC hardware description language (VHDL) or Verilog that configureconnections between internal hardware modules with lesser functionalityon a programmable device. Finally, it needs to be emphasized that theabove mentioned technologies are often used in combination to achievethe result of a functional module.

The disclosure of this patent document incorporates material which issubject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection tothe facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or thepatent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Officepatent file or records, for the limited purposes required by law, butotherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

While various embodiments have been described above, it should beunderstood that they have been presented by way of example, and notlimitation. It will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevantart(s) that various changes in form and detail can be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope. In fact, after reading theabove description, it will be apparent to one skilled in the relevantart(s) how to implement alternative embodiments. Thus, the presentembodiments should not be limited by any of the above describedexemplary embodiments. In particular, it should be noted that, forexample purposes, the above explanation has focused on the example(s)using FDD communication systems. However, one skilled in the art willrecognize that embodiments of the invention may also be implemented in asystem comprising one or more TDD cells (e.g. frame structure 2 and/orframe structure 3-licensed assisted access). The disclosed methods andsystems may be implemented in wireless or wireline systems. The featuresof various embodiments presented in this invention may be combined. Oneor many features (method or system) of one embodiment may be implementedin other embodiments. Only a limited number of example combinations areshown to indicate to one skilled in the art the possibility of featuresthat may be combined in various embodiments to create enhancedtransmission and reception systems and methods.

In addition, it should be understood that any figures which highlightthe functionality and advantages, are presented for example purposesonly. The disclosed architecture is sufficiently flexible andconfigurable, such that it may be utilized in ways other than thatshown. For example, the actions listed in any flowchart may bere-ordered or only optionally used in some embodiments.

Further, the purpose of the Abstract of the Disclosure is to enable theU.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, andespecially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art whoare not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determinequickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of thetechnical disclosure of the application. The Abstract of the Disclosureis not intended to be limiting as to the scope in any way.

Finally, it is the applicant's intent that only claims that include theexpress language “means for” or “step for” be interpreted under 35U.S.C. 112, paragraph 6. Claims that do not expressly include the phrase“means for” or “step for” are not to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, by awireless device, at least one radio resource control (RRC) messagecomprising: a first parameter indicating a starting symbol for aphysical downlink channel; and a second parameter indicating onepossible starting position, for transmission in a time duration, is oneslot; and receiving, via the physical downlink channel, a signal,wherein the physical downlink channel starts from a symbol that is basedon the starting symbol and the second parameter.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein the time duration is a subframe.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the time duration comprises at least two slots.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein a value of the second parameter is seven.
 5. The methodof claim 1, wherein the second parameter further indicates that the onepossible starting position is seven symbols into the time duration. 6.The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one RRC message furthercomprises one or more configuration parameters of a licensed assistedaccess (LAA) cell.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the secondparameter is for a partial subframe.
 8. The method of claim 1, whereinthe second parameter is a starting symbol value of at least one of: apartial subframe; or a slot boundary.
 9. The method of claim 1, whereinthe symbol is equal to the starting symbol plus a non-zero offset symbolvalue that is based on the second parameter.
 10. The method of claim 1,wherein the physical downlink channel is an enhanced physical downlinkcontrol channel (ePDCCH).
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein thephysical downlink channel is a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).12. A method comprising: transmitting, by a base station, at least oneradio resource control (RRC) message comprising: a first parameterindicating a starting symbol for a physical downlink channel; and asecond parameter indicating one possible starting position, fortransmission in a time duration, is one slot; and transmitting, via thephysical downlink channel, a signal, wherein the physical downlinkchannel starts from a symbol that is based on the starting symbol andthe second parameter.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the timeduration is a subframe.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein the timeduration comprises at least two slots.
 15. The method of claim 12,wherein a value of the second parameter is seven.
 16. The method ofclaim 12, wherein the second parameter further indicates that the onepossible starting position is seven symbols into the time duration. 17.The method of claim 12, wherein the at least one RRC message furthercomprises one or more configuration parameters of a licensed assistedaccess (LAA) cell.
 18. The method of claim 12, wherein the secondparameter is for a partial subframe.
 19. The method of claim 12, whereinthe second parameter is a starting symbol value of at least one of: apartial subframe; or a slot boundary.
 20. The method of claim 12,wherein the symbol is equal to the starting symbol plus a non-zerooffset symbol value that is based on the second parameter.
 21. Themethod of claim 12, wherein the physical downlink channel is an enhancedphysical downlink control channel (ePDCCH).
 22. The method of claim 12,wherein the physical downlink channel is a physical downlink sharedchannel (PDSCH).
 23. A wireless device comprising: one or moreprocessors; and memory storing instructions that, when executed by theone or more processors, cause the wireless device to: receive at leastone radio resource control (RRC) message comprising: a first parameterindicating a starting symbol for a physical downlink channel; and asecond parameter indicating one possible starting position, fortransmission in a time duration, is one slot; and receive, via thephysical downlink channel, a signal, wherein the starts from a symbolthat is based on the starting symbol and the second parameter.
 24. Thewireless device of claim 23, wherein the time duration is a subframe.25. The wireless device of claim 23, wherein the time duration comprisesat least two slots.
 26. The wireless device of claim 23, wherein a valueof the second parameter is seven.
 27. The wireless device of claim 23,wherein the second parameter further indicates that the one possiblestarting position is seven symbols into the time duration.
 28. Thewireless device of claim 23, wherein the at least one RRC messagefurther comprises one or more configuration parameters of a licensedassisted access (LAA) cell.
 29. The wireless device of claim 23, whereinthe second parameter is for a partial subframe.
 30. The wireless deviceof claim 23, wherein the second parameter is a starting symbol value ofat least one of: a partial subframe; or a slot boundary.
 31. Thewireless device of claim 23, wherein the symbol is equal to the startingsymbol plus a non-zero offset symbol value that is based on the secondparameter.
 32. The wireless device of claim 23, wherein the physicaldownlink channel is an enhanced physical downlink control channel(ePDCCH).
 33. The wireless device of claim 23, wherein the physicaldownlink channel is a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).
 34. Abase station comprising: one or more processors; and memory storinginstructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, causethe base station to: transmit at least one radio resource control (RRC)message comprising: a first parameter indicating a starting symbol for aphysical downlink channel; and a second parameter indicating that onepossible starting position, for transmission in a time duration, is oneslot; and transmit, via the physical downlink channel, a signal, whereinthe physical downlink channel starts from a symbol that is based on thestarting symbol and the second parameter.
 35. The base station of claim34, wherein the time duration is a subframe.
 36. The base station ofclaim 34, where the time duration comprises at least two slots.
 37. Thebase station of claim 34, wherein a value of the second parameter isseven.
 38. The base station of claim 34, wherein the second parameterfurther indicates that the one possible starting position is sevensymbols into the time duration.
 39. The base station of claim 34,wherein the at least one RRC message further comprises one or moreconfiguration parameters of a licensed assisted access (LAA) cell. 40.The base station of claim 34, wherein the second parameter is for apartial subframe.
 41. The base station of claim 34, wherein the secondparameter is a starting symbol value of at least one of: a partialsubframe; or a slot boundary.
 42. The base station of claim 34, whereinthe symbol is equal to the starting symbol plus a non-zero offset symbolvalue that is based on the second parameter.
 43. The base station ofclaim 34, wherein the physical downlink channel is an enhanced physicaldownlink control channel (ePDCCH).
 44. The base station of claim 34,wherein the physical downlink channel is a physical downlink sharedchannel (PDSCH).
 45. A system comprising: a wireless device; and a basestation; wherein the base station is configured to transmit at least oneradio resource control (RRC) message comprising: a first parameterindicating a starting symbol for a physical downlink channel; and asecond parameter indicating one possible starting position, fortransmission in a time duration, is one slot; and wherein the wirelessdevice is configured to receive, via the physical downlink channel, asignal, wherein the physical downlink channel starts from a symbol thatis based on the starting symbol and the second parameter.
 46. The systemof claim 45, wherein the time duration is a subframe.
 47. The system ofclaim 45, wherein the time duration comprises at least two slots. 48.The system of claim 45, wherein a value of the second parameter isseven.
 49. The system of claim 45, wherein the second parameter furtherindicates that the one possible starting position is seven symbols intothe time duration.
 50. The system of claim 45, wherein the at least oneRRC message further comprises one or more configuration parameters of alicensed assisted access (LAA) cell.
 51. The system of claim 45, whereinthe second parameter is for a partial subframe.
 52. The system of claim45, wherein the second parameter is a starting symbol value of at leastone of: a partial subframe; or a slot boundary.
 53. The system of claim45, wherein the symbol is equal to the starting symbol plus a non-zerooffset symbol value that is based on the second parameter.
 54. Thesystem of claim 45, wherein the physical downlink channel is an enhancedphysical downlink control channel (ePDCCH).
 55. The system of claim 45,wherein the physical downlink channel is a physical downlink sharedchannel (PDSCH).
 56. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storinginstructions that, when executed, configure a wireless device to:receive at least one radio resource control (RRC) message comprising: afirst parameter indicating a starting symbol for a physical downlinkchannel; and a second parameter indicating one possible startingposition, for transmission in a time duration, is one slot; and receive,via the physical downlink channel, a signal, wherein the physicaldownlink channel starts from a symbol that is based on the startingsymbol and the second parameter.
 57. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 56, wherein the time duration is asubframe.
 58. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 56,wherein the time duration comprises at least two slots.
 59. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 56, wherein a value ofthe second parameter is seven.
 60. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 56, wherein the second parameter further indicates thatthe one possible starting position is seven symbols into the timeduration.
 61. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 56,wherein the at least one RRC message further comprises one or moreconfiguration parameters of a licensed assisted access (LAA) cell. 62.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 56, wherein thesecond parameter is for a partial subframe.
 63. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 56, wherein the second parameter is astarting symbol value of at least one of: a partial subframe; or a slotboundary.
 64. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 56,wherein the symbol is equal to the starting symbol plus a non-zerooffset symbol value that is based on the second parameter.
 65. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 56, wherein thephysical downlink channel is an enhanced physical downlink controlchannel (ePDCCH).
 66. The non-transitory computer-readable medium ofclaim 56, wherein the physical downlink channel is a physical downlinkshared channel (PDSCH).
 67. A non-transitory computer-readable mediumstoring instructions that, when executed, configure a base station to:transmit at least one radio resource control (RRC) message comprising: afirst parameter indicating a starting symbol for a physical downlinkchannel; and a second parameter indicating one possible startingposition, for transmission in a time duration, is one slot; andtransmit, via the physical downlink channel, a signal, wherein thephysical downlink channel starts from a symbol that is based on thestarting symbol and the second parameter.
 68. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 67, wherein the time duration is asubframe.
 69. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 67,wherein the time duration comprises at least two slots.
 70. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 67, wherein a value ofthe second parameter is seven.
 71. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 67, wherein the second parameter further indicates thatthe one possible starting position is seven symbols into the timeduration.
 72. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 67,wherein the at least one RRC message further comprises one or moreconfiguration parameters of a licensed assisted access (LAA) cell. 73.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 67, wherein thesecond parameter is for a partial subframe.
 74. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 67, wherein the second parameter is astarting symbol value of at least one of: a partial subframe; or a slotboundary.
 75. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 67,wherein the symbol is equal to the starting symbol plus a non-zerooffset symbol value that is based on the second parameter.
 76. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 67, wherein thephysical downlink channel is an enhanced physical downlink controlchannel (ePDCCH).
 77. The non-transitory computer-readable medium ofclaim 67, wherein the physical downlink channel is a physical downlinkshared channel (PDSCH).